Trending 
Russia and Ukraine have reported deadly overnight drone attacks that have killed at least seven people and damaged civilian infrastructure, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the nearly five-year war continue.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that its air defence systems had intercepted and destroyed 1,198 Ukrainian drones across more than 15 regions, describing one of the largest aerial assaults launched by Kyiv since the conflict began.
“In the course of the previous night, aerial defence systems intercepted and destroyed 1,198 Ukrainian drones, the ministry said.
Read More : Asian Stocks Fall After Nvidia CEO Resigns
In Russia’s southern Volgograd region, local authorities confirmed that four workers were killed in an industrial area housing an oil refinery and a chemical factory.
Ukraine also reported widespread destruction following Russian strikes on several cities, with at least three people killed and several others injured. In Kyiv, a Russian attack damaged a hospital, causing a fire that forced patients and staff to seek shelter. One person was injured.
Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper said two people were killed and five others wounded, with “private residential houses and cars” damaged during the bombardment.
In southeastern Zaporizhzhia, acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin confirmed that a 17-year-old boy was killed, while four people rescued from beneath the rubble sustained injuries. Another strike hit the northwestern city of Rivne, damaging a kindergarten and injuring six people, including two children.
The attacks followed intensive diplomatic engagements involving US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who held hours of discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday before travelling to Dublin for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Read More : China Approves First Oral GLP-1 Weight-Loss Pill
Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian energy facilities in an effort to disrupt Moscow’s oil revenues and weaken its capacity to finance the war launched in February 2022.
Russia, meanwhile, has continued striking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving communities facing electricity shortages as temperatures fall towards winter.
The latest casualties and destruction illustrate the continuing human cost of the conflict, even as Washington pursues negotiations intended to bring the fighting to an end.
